Ábhar Tóir

Are there different types of trafficking?

Irish legislation specifies the following types of exploitation - Sexual Exploitation, Labour Exploitation, exploitation consisting of the removal of one or more of the organs of a person, exploitation consisting of forcing a person to engage in criminal activity.

Human trafficking for labour exploitation

People who have been trafficked for the purpose of labour exploitation are typically (but not exclusively) made to work in sectors such as: agriculture, construction, entertainment, service industry, manufacturing and domestic servitude as well as begging. Trafficking involves the recruitment, movement, harbouring or receiving of a person through means such as fear, fraud and deception, coercion, force or the abuse of power or a position of vulnerability, for the purpose of their sexual or labour exploitation, forced criminality or the removal of the organs of a person.

The following are possible indicators of having been trafficked for labour exploitation:

Work excessively long hours

Be forced to undertake hazardous work

Have low or no salary

Have no access to your earnings

Have no contract of employment

Have your labour rights infringed

Live with the family employing you

Live in groups in the same place where you work, and leave those premises infrequently

Not be dressed adequately for the work you do: for example you may lack protective equipment or warm clothing

Depend on your employer for a number of services, including work, food, transportation and accommodation

Be made to pay for tools, food or accommodation and have these costs deducted from your wages

Have no tax or PRSI contributions and no access to social supports

Have your social activities and movements controlled by your employer

Never or rarely leave the house without your employer

Have no privacy, sleeping in shared and over-crowded spaces

Be given only leftover food to eat

Have no choice of accommodation offered to you

Never leave the work premises without your employer

Be unable to move freely

Live in degraded, unsuitable places, such as in agricultural or industrial buildings

Be subject to security measures designed to keep you on the work premises

Be disciplined through fines and threats

Be subjected to insults, abuse, threats or violence

Lack basic training and professional licenses

Work in places with no health and safety notices, with poor quality equipment and in hazardous conditions

Be unable to show an identity document

Be working without the employment documents required for workers from your country

Be afraid to reveal who is controlling you and lie about your story

Equipment is designed or has been modified so that it can be operated by children.

Have untreated injuries or illnesses, be in poor health or have untreated wounds

Children may be unregistered with a school or have an excuse why this should be, such as being schooled at home or just arrived into the country

In relation to begging, there are some specific indicators of human trafficking such as:

Children, elderly persons or disabled migrants who tend to beg in public places and public transport

Children of the same nationality or ethnicity who move in large groups with only a few adults or with the same adult guardian, or

ive as gang members with adults who are not their parents, or

Participate in the activities of organized criminal gangs

Human trafficking for sexual exploitation

The following are possible indicators of having been trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation:

Be of any age, although the age may vary according to the location of the market

Move from one brothel to the next or work in various locations

Live in groups in the same place where you work, and leave those premises infrequently

Depend on your employer for a number of services, including work, food, transportation and accommodation

Be escorted whenever you go and/or return from work and other outside activities

Have tattoos or other marks indicating ‘ownership’ by your exploiters

Work long hours or have few if any days off

Sleep where you work

Live or travel in a group, sometimes with other women who do not speak the same language

Have very few items of clothing. Taken into account with other indicators clothing may give an indication of a female being involved in prostitution.

Only know how to say sex-related words in the local language or in the language of the client group

Have no cash of your own

Be disciplined through fines and threats

Be unable to show an identity document

Be afraid to reveal who is controlling you and lie about your story

Be subjected to insults, abuse, threats or violence

Your mobile phone keeps ringing when you are out.

Live with the person employing you.

Be unable to move freely

Be subject to insults, abuse, threats or violence

Have a mobile telephone containing text messages with addresses to find locations